Malkin, Nina 1959-

PERSONAL:

Born January 9, 1959, in Brooklyn, NY; daughter of Theodore and Elaine Malkin; married Jason Stutts (a musician).

ADDRESSES:

Home and office—Brooklyn, NY. Agent—Laura Dail Literary Agency, 350 7th Ave., Ste. 2003, New York, NY 10001. E-mail—nina@6xtheband.com.

CAREER:

Writer and editor. Teen People magazine, editor.

WRITINGS:

6X: The Uncensored Confessions (young-adult novel), Scholastic (New York, NY), 2005.

6X: Loud, Fast, and Out of Control (young-adult novel), Scholastic (New York, NY), 2005.

(With others) Mistletoe (four novellas), Scholastic (New York, NY), 2006.

An Unlikely Cat Lady: Feral Adventures in the Backyard Jungle, Lyons Press (Guilford, CT), 2007.

Contributor of articles to periodicals, including Real Simple, Essence, Cosmopolitan, Teen, Women's Wear Daily, New York Times, and In Style.

SIDELIGHTS:

Teen People editor Nina Malkin has plenty of experience interviewing musicians, and she puts that experience to good use in creating the "6X" novel series: stories about a hot teen rock band as told from the band members' perspective. As Malkin wrote on the 6X the Band Web site, "I'm pretty passionate about music, but since I'm basically tone deaf, I write about it rather than try to make it."

6X: The Uncensored Confessions introduces readers to a fictional hot new band that was created by an entertainment lawyer eager to cash in on the next big thing. The four characters—nicknamed "The Boss," "The Body," "The Boy," and "The Voice"—take turns narrating a behind-the-scenes "video diary" which readers follow in book form. With its documentary feel, 6X: The Uncensored Confessions has more of a confessional feel than does a traditional novel. "The book has no real plot, but doesn't particularly need one," explained Kliatt reviewer Amanda MacGregor, while a Publishers Weekly critic found Malkin's "premise … enticing, and the characters' voices … truly distinct." The adventures of the band mates continue in 6X: Loud, Fast, and Out of Control.

Malkin is also the author of a rather unusual memoir titled An Unlikely Cat Lady: Feral Adventures in the Backyard Jungle. Here she recounts her work with feral cats, including her efforts to keep wild cats safe and trap and neuter them to prevent more strays from being born. When asked about her writing process by Stacy N. Hackett for the CatChannel.com, Malkin revealed her creative philosophy: "Bang it out. Just relate the events. Since everything in An Unlikely Cat Lady actually happened, I didn't have to rely on my imagination. It's a bit trickier with fiction."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Kliatt, January, 2006, Amanda MacGregor, review of 6X: The Uncensored Confessions, p. 16.

Library Journal, December 1, 2006, Edell M. Schaefer, review of An Unlikely Cat Lady: Feral Adventures in the Backyard Jungle, p. 148.

Publishers Weekly, September 5, 2005, review of 6X: The Uncensored Confessions, p. 64; October 30, 2006, review of An Unlikely Cat Lady, p. 49.

ONLINE

6X the Band Web site,http://www.6xtheband.com (May 17, 2007).

Brooklyn Paper Online,http://brooklynpaper.com/ (February 24, 2007), Dana Rubenstein, "Nina Malkin."

CatChannel.com,http://www.catchannel.com/ (March 17, 2007), Stacy N. Hackett, "Meet Nina Malkin."

Laura Dail Literary Agency Web site,http://www.ldlainc.com/ (May 17, 2007).